Last for footwear



R. B. PRICE.

LAST FOR FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION HLED APR. 6. 1915. RENEWED APR. 9, 1920.

Patented June 8, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND B. PRICE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE GOODYEARS METALLICRUBBER SHOE COMPANY, A CORPQRATION OF CONNECTICUT.

LAST FOR FOOTWEAR.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 6, 1915, Serial No. 19,431. Renewed April 9,1920. Serial No. 373,224.,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND B. PRICE, a citizen of the United States,anda resident of New York city, county of New York, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts forFootwear, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to lasts for footwear, more particularly lastswhich are used for the manufacture of rubber footwear which is subjectedto a difl'erential of pressure at some period during its construction.

In the above mentioned method of manu-. facturing, the built-up articleon its last is compacted by the application of greater pressure to itsexterior surface and a lesser pressure to its interior. Thisdifferential pressure is applied to the article through the connectionof an exhaust pipe with the interior of a hollow last, said last havingperforations at certain points in its surface to permit the lesserpressure to act on the interior surface of the article. It is essentialthat there be no appreciable permeation of air through the last exceptat the above mentioned perforations, and that all portions of the lastsurface not covered by the article being treated be substantiallyimpervious, in order that the desired differential be maintained.

The ordinary last is made of material which is more or less permeable,the most common being wood, because of its quality of being easily cutto shape. and porcelain are also used.

The object of my invention is to provide a last which may be built ofmaterial such as is ordinarily used in the manufacture of footwear butwhich will not permit permeation of air through its surface when usedfor the manufacture of footwear by the differential method.

I accomplish my object by applying to a last of the usual construction,preferably a removable flexible impervious coating, more fully set forthin the following specification, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a last made in accordancewith this in vention, and

Fig. 2 is a view of a section through one Aluminumsuitable material andis provided at the end with a tapered or threaded opening 41 for thereception of a correspondingly tapered or threaded nipple 5 which inturn is mounted on a conduit 6 connecting with a suitable suction pump.

The last is preferably made hollow and in the sole or foot portion isperforated at one or more points 7.

Thus far I have described the conventional last for use with adifferential pressure. My invention rests in the combination with such alast of an impervious, flexible covering 8, either partially or whollyenveloping the last. For this covering I have found India rubber themost satisfactory, both because of its elasticity and its comparativelow cost. However, I do not limit myself thereto, as I contemplate usingany material which has the necessary qualities.

The impervious covering 8 is perforated at predetermined points 9 tocorrespond with the ports 7 of the last. These openings permitcommunication from the article being treated to the rarefied atmospherewithin the last and supply a channel for the escape of any volatilesubstances which may have been entrapped within the material or betweenthe plies of the article. These ports being positioned remote from theedge of the boot or shoe upper, leakage which would otherwise occur atthat point is obviated, the suction of the pump on the foot portioncausing the leg portion to closely hug the last, thereby acting as aself-sealing means. Without such a covering as I have shown the strongsuction caused by the pump produces a leakage, through the pores of thelast material at the point of least resistance, viz.that part which isuncovered by the boot or shoe being treated. Such a leakage prevents theclose contact of the plastic at the edge of the article, a flow of gasis thereby permitted to penetrate between it and the last, and, so faras the plies of material in the article are concerned, much of or alldifferential is destroyed. In Fig. 2 of the drawings I have shown adevice for registering the ports in the covering and the last. Thisdevice consists of a small cylindrical sleeve 10 of suitable materialhaving one edgeextended outwardly forming a flange as at 11 to overlapthe material of the covering. By the use of this device any tendency onthe part of the cover to slip on the surface of the last and thereby acta closure to the port '7 is prevented;

While I have shown the last 3 of hollow construction, I wish to beunderstood as not confining the use of my cover to this type as I alsocontemplate the use of a solid last With channels bored therein toconnect the ports with the suction conduit.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent is: a a a In combination with a perforated hollowpervious last for boots and shoes, a covering formed to it the foot ofthe last and to extend upwardly beyond the area adapted to support theupper margin of tl eboot or shoe, said covering having perforationswhich register With the perforations of the last, the material of whichsaid covering is formed being substantially impervious to gases.

Signed at New York, N. Y.', this 5th day of April, 1915.

RAYMOND B. PRICE.

